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Journalism of Courage
A 34-year-old housewife from a tribal village in Tripura made history when she passed the class 12 state board exam along with her son.
The woman scored 162 out of 500 marks in Humanities stream while her son, a commerce student, scored 414. The results were announced on Thursday.
She told <em>indianexpress.com</em> that her childhood dream of finishing school has finally come true. After being married off at a young age, she and her husaband struggled to make ends meet. The desire to provide for her family, she says, has pushed her to clear the examination.
“My husband is the sole breadwinner of the family. I have always had a dream to land a government job and provide for my family. I feel I should play my role. Now that I have passed my Higher Secondary exams, I shall start applying for government jobs,” she said.
Her husband said that she decided to leave school to spend more time with the family after they had a son in 2001. “I barely passed my Madhyamik (matriculation) examinations and could not study further. I am very happy with her performance. I want to send her to Government Degree College, Gandacherra for further studies,” he said.
Their son was also instrumental in encouraging the woman to resume studies after a gap of 16 years.
He said she would collect old test papers from students who passed matriculation and source books from local shops, and try reading them after completing household chores.
Lok Sabha MP Rebati Tripura and Tripura Board of Secondary Education (TBSE) Deputy Secretary Pradip Sengupta was among those who congratulated her on passing the exam. Sengupata said the woman has set a benchmark for other “senior students” who left education. The TBSE official also appealed to them to resume schooling and appear for the board exams in future.
